In contrast with subject-bound education, integrative education promotes the construction of broad "mental programs" that require students to use skills and information in new, realistic contexts. Early childhood education has long been a model of integrative education, emphasizing the whole child and offering a wide range of experiences that…

This monograph, part of an ongoing series, discusses the need for school arts programs and provides some examples of how the arts can be infused into the regular curriculum at the elementary level. Support systems for such programs are also discussed. Properly conceived, the arts constitute a great integrating force in the curriculum. To achieve…

This report discusses some of the characteristics and benefits of an interdisciplinary curriculum, as well as practical considerations involving the introduction of such a curriculum in elementary and secondary schools. To successfully introduce an interdisciplinary curriculum, teachers and administrators need to: (1) integrate the curriculum; (2)…

The elementary secondary curriculum in the United States could benefit from redefining the arts as a discipline to be interwoven into the school's curriculum. Four essays in this issue explore the question of the arts in education. John Holdren comments in "Will the Band Play On?" that music educators must stress the serious study of music as its…

These three occasional publications contain the following articles: (1) Varieties of Interdisciplinary Approaches in the Social Sciences (Raymond C. Miller); (2) Five Arguments against Interdisciplinary Studies (Thomas L. Benson); (3) What Are Transdisciplinary Principles? (Robert W. Winquist); (4) Can Progress toward Interdisciplinary Education…

The many forms of interdisciplinarity in higher education institutions and the various ways it has been used to advance curricular changes are examined. Definitions of interdisciplinarity and its variants (multi-, pluri-, and transdisciplinarity) provide a conceptual framework for the examination. In this study, interdisciplinarity is understood…

Integrative education, although organized around curriculum, also unites people and activities. This monograph explores the integration of people, activities, and subject matter as seen through the eyes of those who support and implement the meaning and processes of integrative education. In chapter 1, scholars and trainers in and out of academia…

There is increasing interest in integrated studies or the integrated curriculum at all levels of schooling. Integrated approaches reveal wide differences in interpretation of what integration actually means and how it can be accomplished within the school setting. Chapter 1 discusses the various meanings of integration and some approaches taken to…

This monograph, one in a series, describes ways in which elementary teachers have brought arts to the classroom. Descriptions of what teachers are doing are organized by themes. The first theme is the use of the arts in basic skill development. One teacher in Casper, Wyoming, produces rebus books for her students. These books offer a means of…

Six articles by Lynn Olson, published in various issues of "Education Week" starting in January 1993 and ending May 1995, describe a Maryland project to improve elementary education in the State: (1) "Winning NASDC (New American Schools Development Corporation) Project Takes Flight" (the basic skills children need to succeed in…

Integration of academic and vocational curricula is missing from most American classrooms because integration that is rigorous, authentic, and sustained is much more difficult than most advocates imagine. The difficulty arises because teachers must do the following: keep integration sharply focused on clear, well-defined educational objectives;…

Trends in the workplace and legislative mandates have forced community colleges to consider how to integrate general education with vocational training successfully. The technological base of American industry has changed dramatically in the direction of greater complexity and interdependence, requiring workers to possess not only higher levels of…

An overview is presented of an elementary-level social studies core curriculum at Fieldston Lower School (in New York City) in which the moral and ethical development of students is seen as a priority. Fieldston Lower School is one of three branches of the Ethical Culture Schools. Article 1 focuses on the modification of the traditional elementary…

During the past decade, standards have become a central aspect of reforms in both academic and vocational education. Thus far, academic and industry skill standards have been developed independently of each other. Only sometimes do documents concerning academic standards discuss using standards in ways that have relevance to work, and most…

Learning factors that are improved by K-12 arts programs include perception, awareness, concentration, uniqueness of thought style, expression, inventiveness and problem solving, confidence and self worth, and motivation. The arts have been taught as an addition to the basic curriculum, not as part of the basic curriculum. This will continue…